12 



TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7tli. 



A Lecture on " Apes and tlieir Allies " was delivered by 

 J. G. GooDC'HiLD, Esq., F.G.S., F.Z.S. 



It is not easy to mark off all the IMonkeys into one group. 

 Monkeys are principally distinguished in the Eutheria by the 

 possession of a hand-thumb, and foot-thumb. The oliject of the 

 Lecturer was mainly to discuss the higher Apes, and the lower 

 forms of animals immediately below them. There are 250 to 270 

 species of Monkeys, of Avhich 240 are very distinct in character. 

 Monkeys are more limited in space than they used to be in former 

 times. There are none in Australia, Xew Guinea, and the neigh- 

 bouring islands. It is difficult to define the Leiuur from the 

 Monkey, but the former has hair on the face, the latter has none. 

 The Lemur is confined to ]\Iadagascar, while allied forms are met 

 with in South Africa and Southern Asia. The lowest form of 

 Lemur is the Aye-aye of INIadagascar ; a peculiar elongation of the 

 toes enables tlie animal to liook out from holes in the wood the 

 caterpillars upon Avhich it feeds. There are no woodpeckers in 

 IVLadagascar, and the Aye-aye does duty for them. The I^emur 

 has no prehensile tail, no opposable thumb, no cheek pouches. 



The nearest allies to the Lemurs in other parts of the world 

 are found hv South America — the Marmosets. American ^lonkeys 

 have the nostrils widely separated, and thus differ from those of 

 the Old "World. The hand-thumb and foot-thum]» of ]\[arniosets 

 are not well-marked. Certain otlier South American Monkeys 

 have a ]irehensile tail, hairless at the tip, and with this tail they 

 are abh^ to pick up small things. All Monkeys of the Xew World, 

 excejjt ^lanuosets, have three preuKjlar teeth; those of the Old 

 World having only two premolars. Fossil Monkeys of miocene 

 times have lieen found in America. 



Among Monkeys of the (.)ld World the tail is }iractically 

 useless. Jiaboons are of the most brutal and rei)ulsive type, but 

 they are structurally higher than the Monkeys that have lieen 

 referred to. Baboons seem to cultivate manners — such as tln-y 

 are ; they appear to be governed by laws, and have a certain code 

 ■of moralitv. Punishment is swift when these laws are transgressed. 



